Improving Language Pedagogy through Exploration of Learners’ Errors: An Examination of Undergraduates’ Written Communication

Abstract

One major part of language learning pedagogy includes identifying and
rectifying discrepancies while communicating through the target
language. In such educational settings, the importance of understanding
learners’ errors becomes undeniable for both the pupil and pedagogue.
Keeping this in forefront, the current investigation sampled twohundred and ten emails jotted down by ESL (‘English as a Second
Language’) students to their teachers. This comparative investigation
divided the learners’ emails into two groups; First Semester and Fourth
Semester, enrolled in MA English at COMSATS Institute of
Information Technology, Virtual Campus, Islamabad. Utilizing
Corder’s Model (1967) and Sawalmeh’s Categorization (2013), the
emails were scrutinized and the results established that selected
Pakistani learners commit nine different errors regularly in their
electronic mail communiqué. Moreover, these outputs were
comparatively studied utilizing the statistical software of SPSS
(Version 16.0). These results highlighted a significant difference
between the two semesters, which revealed a considerable reduction of
errors in the learners’ language use as they move from first to fourth
semester of the prescribed degree program. Additionally, Richards’
framework (1974) for deciphering source of learners’ errors was
employed, which depicted that the first semester students’ first
language (Urdu) frequently interferes when they use the second
language (English) in writing emails. Meanwhile, the fourth semester
students’ language errors majorly contained deviant structures or
ignorance of target language’s (English) rules. Considering these findings, the study proposes similar studies to be conducted on other
institutes’ pupils and also recommends practical methodologies like
corrective feedback for teachers, in aiding learners to fortify their
command on English language.